Chapter 996: Chapter 997: Being an Official is Useless
Song Xiaodong was instructing students on pulse diagnosis when someone approached him.
"Are you Professor Song?" the person asked directly.
"I am. Who are you?" Song Xiaodong looked at the middle-aged man and didnât recognize him.
The man said, "I am Liu Chunan, the dean of the Traditional Chinese Medicine College." His attitude was somewhat arrogant.
"Oh, itâs Dean Liu. What can I do for you?" Song Xiaodong was still quite polite.
Liu Chunan said, "Hereâs the thing, a friend of mine heard that your medical skill is quite good, and he trusts Traditional Chinese Medicine a lot, so he wants you to have a look at him."
Considering the deanâs reputation to some extent, Song Xiaodong said, "Oh, Iâll come over after Iâm done with teaching the students."
Liu Chunan insisted, "Let others handle this here first, you should come with me now."
Song Xiaodong frowned and asked, "Is it an emergency?"
Liu Chunan replied, "Not an emergency, but the person is very special. To have you treat him would be an honor for you; you must hurry."
Upon hearing this, Song Xiaodong immediately steeled his face and said, "If itâs not an emergency, whatâs the rush? I can only instruct students once every two weeks, which is a rare opportunity for them. Let him wait."
Liu Chunan instantly hardened his expression and said, "Professor Song, what kind of attitude is this? Do you realize who the person is? Heâs a leader from the provincial Health Bureau. The school values you by asking you to treat him; itâs an opportunity for you."
Song Xiaodong coldly responded, "I donât care who he is, and I donât need such opportunities. To me, a patient is just a patient. Whether wealthy or poor, official or civilian, they are all the same."
"You... You..." Liu Chunanâs face turned even uglier. He angrily said, "Iâm ordering you to go now!"
"Though youâre the dean, you donât have the authority to command me. Donât interfere with my teaching."
After saying that, Song Xiaodong didnât even glance at Liu Chunan, instead helping a student determine the diagnosis result.
"You... You... you are defying everything, arenât you even considering me, the dean?" Liu Chunanâs face was flushed red with anger.
"I am a teacher and a doctor, but I am not a person of the officialdom. You canât pressure me with your position; I donât care for it. Please leave!"
Song Xiaodong outrightly sent Liu Chunan away.
Liu Chunan, as the dean, was being treated this way by a professor in the school for the first time. He was fuming, his face turning the color of a pigâs liver. He pointed at Song Xiaodong, lips trembling, and said, "Alright, you really have guts. The Health Bureauâs leader asked for you, and you refused. Just wait, youâll see what happens in the future."
After finishing, he turned around and left, huffing and puffing.
"Teacher Song, you are truly impressive!"
"Yes, yes, you made Dean Liu so angry he looked like a big-bellied cricket."
"Teacher Song is Teacher Song indeed, doesnât pander to authority, truly admirable."
A group of students, who remained silent earlier, now excitedly chattered away. Each of them aspired to become someone with backbone like Song Xiaodong, yet they knew well the hardship of maintaining such integrity in reality.
"Alright, focus on your work seriously," Song Xiaodong stiffened his face, telling the young ones to settle down.
Lu Yaobing leaned next to Song Xiaodong and whispered, "This Dean Liu is not a good person. Heâs very petty. You upset him; heâll cause trouble for you."
"Let him be. Someone like that shouldnât be indulged. Yaobing, this time Iâm also teaching you. As a doctor, you treat patients; in your eyes, all patients are the same. Thereâs only the matter of the severity and urgency of illness, no distinction of status or wealth."
Lu Yaobingâs expression turned serious, earnestly saying, "Master, Iâve noted that down."
"Mm." Song Xiaodong nodded.
Suddenly, Lu Yaobing smiled wide, saying, "Master, you are truly impressive."
Song Xiaodong stiffened his face again, saying, "Stop teasing, get back to work."
Lu Yaobing playfully stuck out her tongue and quickly ran off.
The other students, though they hadnât heard what Song Xiaodong and Lu Yaobing were discussing, seeing Lu Yaobingâs smile was enough to have their eyes nearly pop out, wondering when Lu Yaobing, usually distant and unapproachable, had become so playful. To Professor Song, she seemed like a cute little girl.
During the busy free clinic, two hours passed quickly. In addition to diagnostics, Song Xiaodong was also teaching them to use acupuncture for minor ailments.
Some students were still hesitant, but Lu Yaobing was very bold, feeling confident under Song Xiaodongâs tutelage. Moreover, the slight presence of True Qi made treatments by her hands quite effective.
After the free clinic ended, Song Xiaodong directly took Lu Yaobing away, leading everyone to secretly speculate about their intentions, with suspicions occasionally drifting towards the most inappropriate conclusions.
However, apart from envy, there werenât any malicious thoughts. Instead, people seemed to feel that Song Xiaodong and Lu Yaobing were quite a good match, with some even joking about hoping for a teacher-student romance between them.
Song Xiaodong and Lu Yaobing didnât think much of it; Song Xiaodong just felt lucky to have found a good apprentice.
As for Lu Yaobing, she genuinely admired her mentor, Song Xiaodong, and just wished to learn everything possible from him. So when Song Xiaodong booked a room at the hotel, and they were alone in the room, Lu Yaobing felt perfectly comfortable.
Song Xiaodong took out a small bottle and said, "This is a medicine Iâve refined, and now I give it to you."
Lu Yaobing carefully took it, looking at the bottle containing a light yellow liquid, and excitedly said, "Master, I thought it would be a big medicine pill. Didnât expect it to be oral liquid. I was worried about not being able to swallow it."
Song Xiaodong burst into laughter, saying, "Youâre just like my family, Yingying, who reads too many novels."
"Yingying? Thatâs clearly a girlâs name. Who is she to you? Is she my mentorâs wife?" Girls tend to pay attention to such matters, so Lu Yaobing promptly asked curiously.
Song Xiaodong smiled and nodded, "Thatâs right."
Lu Yaobingâs eyes lit up even more, and she said, "Then my mentorâs wife must be very beautiful. When can you introduce me to her?"
Song Xiaodong tapped Lu Yaobing on the head and said, "When thereâs an opportunity in the future. For now, focus on taking this medicine."
"Okay, okay!" Lu Yaobing stuck out her tongue and rubbed her head.
Song Xiaodong almost remarked how similar Lu Yaobing was to Lin Shu in this respect, but held back to avoid stirring up another wave of gossip from his apprenticeâs heart.